One Chilly Morning
by Karianasan
Summary: Originally this was going to be another Knowing chapter, but it kinda ran away from me. So enjoy some cute Shaggy/Velma fluff.


Some things you just can't wait for. Letting off a huge growl, Shaggy had been awakened by his hungry stomach. Blinking, he reached over and plucked the electronic clock from it's perch by his head. Flinching from the bright red lights, he waited till his eyes adjusted till he had been able to see what time it was. It was early, around two in the morning.

Yawning, Shaggy stretched against the pillows that made up his and Scooby's bed upon the floor. Sure, he had a bed, but it wasn't as comfortable as the pile of pillows that he preferred instead. Pushing the various Dane body parts off of himself, he managed to get untangled from the dog and find an unclaimed spot on the floor to get to his feet. Letting out another yawn, he stretched and worked a chink out of his neck. Casting a glance at his canine companion, he knew that the Dane was too far out of it to join him on his munchy quest, so he figured he would just bring him something back when he returned to bed.

With practiced skill, Shaggy crossed his room and slipped out the door without so much as a sound. Sliding silently into the hallway, he made his way to the kitchen. Once inside, his hunger took over and got him to work. It took him only moments to whip up something to eat, a few sandwiches later all he had left was the one left in his hand. Nibbling on it, he tried to make it last until the rest of his meal was finished. The thing that took the longest, was his hot chocolate. It had been a bit chillier then he was used to for a spring night, but it was perfect hot chocolate weather.

With a breeze coming from one of the open window, Shaggy shook from a chill that raced down his spine from the cold. Turning his attention to the window, he moved to shut it when he noticed something outside. Squinting out the window, he had to go outside to investigate. Using the light from the kitchen, he saw clearly what had drawn him outside in the first place... there was a body.

Well... not a body in a bad way, but there was someone upon the hammock. Crossing the lawn, bare feet making crunching noises as he went, he was surprised to find the unconscious form that lay upon the hammock. The sleeping body was Velma. Eyes widening, he was not used to seeing the woman out of her own bed, or passed out in her basement. Unless they were on a case, those were usually the two places she could be found at this hour. She shouldn't be out here in the cold. Shivering a bit as a breeze went by him, he knew that this was the last place she should be. His indecision didn't last long, as he knew she had to be inside and somewhere warm. Shoving the sandwich into his mouth, that freed up his hands for other things. Sliding his hands under her back and legs, he lifted her body with little trouble. One thing nice about Velma when she slept, she for the most part stayed in one place all night. She was far easier to deal with, compared to the other woman of the house. Shaggy had earned way too many black eyes due to a misplaced foot or elbow from the unconscious red head as she rolled in her sleep. Velma was nice and quiet, only moving a bit in her sleep. More compact and less thrashy. Now when she was awake, was another matter... But usually that wasn't always her fault.

He was almost at the kitchen door when he felt Velma stir in his arms. Looking down, he watched as Velma wake up. It only took a second for Velma to realize that she was somewhere different from where she last left herself. Her body tensed up in caution for a few seconds before her eyes focused on the person who was carrying her.

"Good morning sleep head." Shaggy spoke softly to her, trying not the startle the drowsy woman. Hearing his voice and feeling the familiar grip upon her body, she relaxed into his hold on her.

"Morning...?" She allowed herself to slowly come around. Shifting into his grip, she pulled herself to peer over his shoulder at the back yard. Her mind trying to process the cloudy thoughts that floated about in her head. "... did I fall asleep?"

"Yep, I found you in the hammock." Keeping still, he let her use his shoulder as a grip.

"Mm... I remember finishing a project late last night... er.. What time is it?" Resting her chin on his shoulder, she tried to remember what might have happened to her to end up outside.

"It's like', two in the morning. Maybe about two thirty now." Shaggy chuckled, moving back towards the kitchen. Shifting her in his grip, he made sure not to jostle her as he got the door open. Flinching against the light, she burrowed into his shoulder against the light. Her face and glasses making a dent into his shoulder.

"Ngh, evil light." She sleepily grumbled, earning another chuckle from him.

"Sorry."

"... S'not your fault. Stupid Lewis Howard Latimer..." She said, cursing the discovery of the carbon filament that helped shape the modern light bulb and their later discoveries.

"... Do I smell hot chocolate?" Blinking against the light, Velma tried to look about the kitchen. Her nose moving slightly as the smell of the chocolate called to her, distracting her from what she had been saying before. Gently, Shaggy placed Velma down on one of the broader chairs that they had in the kitchen. Disappearing into one of the nearby rooms, he returned quickly to drop a blanket around her shoulders with a flomp of material.

"Yes, to answer your question. And it's like' all yours. I'll make mine afterwards. You need to warm up! We don't need you catching a cold after all." Scolded Shaggy lightly, though more concerned for the smaller woman. It had been pretty chilly, and he didn't know how long she had been out there. Moving across the room, he acquired her favorite mug and quickly filled it with the precious liquid before he gave it to her. Fogging up her glasses slightly as she looked down at the hot chocolate, she blew lightly on it to cool the steaming chocolate. Shaggy was having a bit of trouble not chuckling at the scene. She looked quite silly, Buried behind the massive blanket about her shoulders and a mug that had Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out at any who looked at it. It had also a saying upon it, remarking some words from Einstein s past troubles with his own popularity. "Pardon me, Sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein." It was quite a picture, and Velma being half awake just perfected it.

"Daphne would kill for this photo opportunity." Shaggy chuckled, working to set up his own hot chocolate. But he didn't miss the threatening glare that came from behind the mug.

"Do, and you will be sleeping on the hammock for the next week... Cold or not!" She would too, she hated cameras with a passion. And she wasn't going to let him go wake up Daphne. Raising up his hands in defeat, he didn't want to sleep outside.

"Alright, alright... I won't. But you should see yourself. It's funny. All the blanket poof and tussled hair under it all. Add the unhappy glare from behind the Einstein and it's a perfect picture!" He joked, plucking the nearby metal napkin holder to show it to her instead of a mirror. Shaggy oddly kept them very shiny, and so it was easy to see ones refection in the sides of the container. Blinking, Velma narrowed her sleepy eyes to try to focus on the image reflected back to her. Messy hair leading into the bulk of the blanket, sleepy eyes peering back at her through her thick glasses from among the mass of the blankets and her clutching her favorite cup in her hands like a chipmunk with it's prized nut. She had to chuckled back.

"... Fine. Your right. But still, no pictures. Too early..." She grumbled, finally agreeing with him but still not wanting her moment of half awake ness to be shared with others. Especially being recorded in Daphne's collection. She wouldn't give that woman any more evidence against her, she had enough all ready.

"Alright, I'll like' be good." Shaggy held up his hand in solemn promise. Velma eyed him a moment before diverting her attention back to her mug. But the warm liquid dulled her edge, making her sink lower into the bundle of blankets.

"Mmmm... that's good. What kind of hot chocolate is this?" She asked, curious at the flavor that she tasted. She knew Shaggy far to well, and she knew that a simple hot chocolate was too bland for the connoisseur of foods and drinks. Shaggy smiled, taking a swig of the drink.

"Good isn't it? It's a caramel cocoa, I got it last year from someone around winter. I also have a hazelnut, almond, butterscotch and coconut ones in that pack. I wish I could recall who gave it to me though. I can't like' remember." Shaggy said with a huff. He hated forgetting who gave him which yummy thing, but when it came close to Christmas, too many people gave him things like that to make it hard to recall.

"Those sound good, I'll have to try some another day if your offering. Though, if you are having trouble remembering who gave you what, maybe you should use that label maker that Daphne gave you a few years ago. I haven't see you use that in a while." Velma offered, feeling a bit more awake with the warm liquid in her and the time she had to gather her thoughts together.

"I can't, I don't know where Scoob ran off with it. He went on a labeling spree one day and I haven't seen it since." Shaggy sighed and shook his head. Leave it to Scooby to get too excited with something and then lose it in the process. At least the Dane didn't lose something more important... like the remote to the ovens or something.

"Ah, I think I remember that. He had seen some Discovery show that showed how 'bad' dogs marked their territory to tell other dogs to stay away from his stuff. Sometimes I'm glad he doesn't fully get what it means to be a dog, and that was his answer to marking everything and everyone. I think I had "Scooby's, don't touch!" plastered on the back of one of my sweaters for a few days before I was allowed to take it off." Velma said with a laugh, remembering the incident. It was far better then having the Dane do what normal dogs did to make something theirs. In those kinds of instances, it was better to have a cat. Cats for the most part rubbed on things they wanted to mark theirs, dogs on the other hand... Had a far more messy process and it was best not to be thought about for long periods of time.

"Mine, was like' on my forehead... I certainly got odd looks for doing some grocery shopping that day, but it was for Scooby's sake, so I had too." Shaggy shrugged, making a fool of himself in exchange for Scooby beign happy was a fair trade. But Shaggy's thoughts got a bit derailed as he watched Velma let off a huge yawn, tipping her head back in the effort.

"... Someone looks tired..." Shaggy smiled, crossing the short distance between the two of them.

"Nnn... I'm not... _YAWN_... Tired." Closing her eyes, she chided her own body as it betrayed her spoken words. "... Thanks self." She muttered, earning a snicker from the scruffy man.

"Bed." He commanded, pointing towards her room.

She didn't really want to leave. It wasn't often that she got to just sit around and talk with Shaggy. She was enjoying the company and the stillness of the early morning. Especially after she had locked herself away for the last couple of days to get her work done. On many days, she would wish that she could just be left to work on her many projects that awaited her, but after years of being with the gang... She had become a bit of a social addict. Her days, wither she liked it or not, revolved around her family... her friends that lived in the house with her. Even the times she would bar herself from the outside world, she could not escape the sounds of the others. Shaggy and Scooby romping about the house, Daphne listening to some of her loud music... Fred shouting to get the attention of the before mentioned, distracted woman. And everyone always made sure to feed her when she was working... Also wither she liked it or not. But she needed those little breaks. It was her favorite working environment, though she would never admit it aloud. Her pride prevented it... not that the gang didn't know already. But they would never tell her either.

Looking at her cup, she hoped that there would have been some of the delicious hot chocolate left, giving her an excuse to stay longer. Like a kid trying to stay up later their her bed time, she tried to find any angle that would allow her to stay longer. But her cup was sadly empty.

"... but.. but..." She stammered on, her intelligent mind unable to find anything more then a childish response. All she could do was pout at him, but he wasn't going to budge.

"You worked hard down there." He pointed at the floor, trying to indicate the basement below them. Though had it been a different scenario, Velma would have pointed out that her section of the basement was more to the left and behind him. Where he was pointing was Daphne's black room, but that was besides the point. And Shaggy wasn't letting her get a word in edgewise. "You like' saved the world or something down there..."

"Not saving the world. I was simply writing a paper on a new theory that..." She tried to correct, but Shaggy interjected.

"You were doing something important to help those... other smart people that actually do things to make things better, right? So, saving the world basically."

She tried to find an argument, but the paper she had written was to try to improve the efficiency of mass production foods, and how their irrigation could be improved on. So she guess, in a round about way, she was in fact trying to save the world. Shaggy knew that the comment would have distracted her, and which her mind went to work trying to find a loop hole, he had managed to pick her up and bring her to her room. By the time she had finished, she looked down and found herself staring at her own bed. Turning, she sent an annoyed look his way.

"You... you planned that."

"Yep!"

"... Sneaky... I give you that. Betrayed by my own mind. Well played Rogers, well played." She used his last name, giving him credit where credit was due. He just laughed at her.

"Bed time. We can stay up and have hot chocolate together another night. But you need some sleep." She didn't argue, and let him place her into her own bed. The few times she did tried to struggle against him, her hand earned a swat. So she just sulked, as he tucked her in to her favorite spot on her bed. Her look earned a chuckle from him, as he leaned over and plucked her glasses off from her face. She watched the Shaggy shaped blob cross around her bed to put her glasses in her favorite spot by her bedside, on the dresser. Leaning over one more time, she was a bit surprised when she felt his lips upon her forehead, giving it a quick kiss.

"Rest. You did a lot today, you deserve the sleep." He meant it too, making sure she knew that before he raised himself away from her. Tossing a wave behind one shoulder, he didn't even know if she would see it. But it didn't really matter, as long as she got the rest she needed. Leaving out her door, he closed the door gently behind him with a soft click. Turning back to look at the door, he shook his head for a second before he smiled. And with that smile with him, he traveled to the kitchen to finish off what was left of his hot chocolate. He would put aside the Almond and Butterscotch packets of chocolate for another night, before he took up the several sandwiches to bring back to leave for Scooby. It was hard to predict when his furry companion would wake up and be hungry, so he had a doggy bag all ready just in case.

Going back to his room, he entered and closed the door quietly behind him. Looking down, he waited till his eyes adjusted before he knew just how far the dog had oozed while he had been away. With paws in all directions, Scooby had rolled in his sleep and covered most of the pillows where Shaggy normally slept. Chuckling at Scooby, he placed the bag in it's usual spot before trying to settled down to sleep himself. Shouldering against the Dane, Shaggy pushed his way towards a semi unclaimed spot on the pile. It was where Scooby usually started at night, but rarely ended in the next morning. Flomping upon the pillows, he shifted around to get comfortable. He was right about to fall back asleep, when the edge of something jabbed him into the side.

Pushing himself up, Shaggy fished about his side to try to find what had poked him. It took a bit of searching before his hand gasped the hard object he was seeking. Giving it a tug, it took only a second of wiggling before it appeared. Squinting against the darkness of his room, he saw a familiar shape. It was the label maker. Giving in to a sudden laugh, his body moved against Scooby in such a way that the Dane sleepily woke up.

"... Raggy?"

"Yeah Scoob?" Shaggy asked, feeling bad that he woke up Scooby.

"...ok." Rolling over, the dog was satisfied with the fact that it was his pal and nothing more.

Holding up the label maker for a little bit more, Shaggy thought about what he should do with it, now that he had found it once again. He thought about Velma and smiled. He would have to tell her about it tomorrow, and remember to label certain things when he got the chance. Placing the thing aside where he could find it the next day, Shaggy gave into the yawn that had crept up on him. Rolling over, he draped one of his arms across the chest of his buddy, giving it a short scratch before relaxing.

"... yawn... night Scoob." "R'ight Raggy..."


End file.
